FWG Holdings LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

FWG Holdings LLC lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. FWG Holdings LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE CAT opened at $384.53 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.81 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $185.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $381.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $354.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This represents a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.